It's never too late to make things right
by Braconte
Summary: This story takes place before the events of "GOTHAM'S HOPE" and it's based on the second half of season 4 between episodes 12-15.
1. Chapter 1

It's never too late to make things right

Chapter 1

**Wayne Manor **

Bruce Wayne recently got home to Wayne Manor after hanging out with his spoiled rich friends at random clubs. It was late at night and Bruce wasn't even sure what time it was. He felt very tired and his head was hurting from all of the partying he was doing throughout most of the day. Bruce decided to go into his father's study and lay down on the couch until his headache stopped. He wasn't sure if it was just a hangover from all the alcohol he drank earlier or from the loud music that was playing non-stop at the clubs. Either way Bruce really didn't care, because he was now on his own and he felt very unsure of himself. At this point he had no confidence or motivation and was now a lost soul with no purpose and it was all, because Bruce pushed away the only family he had left in his life.

Things have not been the same in the past few days for Bruce Wayne ever since he fired Alfred. He didn't want to believe it, because the whole thing felt like a dream to him, but in reality it wasn't. Bruce pushed away the only family he had left in his life and he had no one to blame, but himself. Either way Bruce really didn't want to think about it, but no matter how hard he tried to forget about it, the memory would always come back to him. Even when Bruce wakes up in the morning he can still remember the last thing he said to his former butler before throwing him out on to the streets.

"_**ALFRED YOU'RE FIRED, NOW GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE." **_Those were the exact words that Bruce Wayne said to Alfred Pennyworth and it still haunts him to this very day.

Sure there were other things that bothered Bruce such as how he failed to protect Alex Winthrop. Bruce sometimes has nightmares at night where he would re-live the moment of seeing Alex die at the hands of Ra's Al Ghul. What made Bruce feel guiltier about it was that he hesitated, because he wouldn't hand over the dagger to Ra's, which ended up costing Alex's life. Bruce blamed himself for that, because Alex trusted him and the fact that he wouldn't cooperate with Ra's made it even worse. If Bruce had just given Ra's the dagger than none of this would've happened and Alex would still be alive, but he's not and its why Bruce still blames himself for that.

This isn't the first time that Bruce failed to protect someone he cared about. Every time he thought about the death of Alex, he was reminded about how his actions cost the life of Karen Jennings to. Bruce still remembers it like it was yesterday and that was also something he had a hard time getting over, because he still blamed himself for her death. Karen was one of Hugo Strange's experiments at Pinewood Farms. Bruce's father Thomas Wayne helped Karen go into hiding after he found out about Professor Strange's experiments at Pinewood Farms and then shut down the facility. When Bruce found Karen outside of Gotham City at old an house he promised to keep her safe if she helped him with finding out more about Hugo Strange's experiments at Pinewood Farms. Unfortunately, it did not end well, because Professor Strange sent Victor Fries to kill her. Karen Jennings ultimately sacrificed herself in order to prevent Bruce from getting killed in the crossfire. Bruce watched in horror as Victor used his freeze gun to put Karen on ice and then he shattered her into tiny pieces. He still remembers her final words that she said to him before being killed.

"I'm so glad I met you Bruce. Your father would be very proud of the man you've become." Those were Karen Jennings last words to Bruce Wayne before she sacrificed herself.

The memory of her death still haunts him even to this very day. No matter how hard Bruce tried to help others they always ended up paying the price for his mistakes. The one thing that really bothered Bruce the most was that he broke his promise to never kill anyone. Throughout his entire journey of finding his parent's killer and uncovering the mystery behind it all Bruce at point promised himself to never take a life. Despite wanting revenge he knew deep down that it will not solve anything and it will only cause more suffering. For a while Bruce was able to keep his promise, but it did not last long, especially after everything he's been through. Ra's Al Ghul manage to manipulate Bruce into killing him with the dagger just so he can finally, die after years of living with immortality.

To be fair Bruce has been in similar situations where he almost killed someone before like when he pointed a gun at Matches Malone or the time he fought Jerome Valeska. The only difference was that Bruce chose not to kill either of them, because he knew it wasn't right to take a life. If that's the case than why did Bruce decide to kill Ra's, what made this situation different than the previous scenarios. Was Alex's death really all it took to break Bruce's promise or was it, because Ra's threaten to kill everyone Bruce loves and cares about? Either way Bruce wasn't sure anymore and he really did not care, because everything he worked so hard on up to this point has all gone down the drain.

As Bruce continued to laydown on the couch silently he looked over to where the fireplace was and above it he saw a picture of his parents hanging on the wall. He looked at it for a few seconds and then quickly turned away, because Bruce was ashamed of himself. Bruce personally felt that he failed not only himself, but also his parents as well. He didn't deserve to be their son or be called a Wayne, because Bruce thinks that he is nothing, but a disappointment to the family. It doesn't help the fact that Bruce has done nothing, but push away those who care about him such as Alfred, Gordon, Selina, and Lucius due to his selfish behavior. Was this really Bruce's destiny, to live a miserable life of being alone everyday while getting drunk with a bunch of rich snobs at random clubs each night. Would anybody really miss Bruce if he was gone.

Maybe Bruce isn't meant to become the hero of Gotham or save it from corruption, because it seems like the city itself is only getting worse everyday. Bruce didn't want to think about it anymore, so he closed his eyes and after a few minutes he fell asleep while laying on the couch. During the first hour Bruce was able to sleep peacefully until eventually, his mind began to drift off into the realms of dreams. During his dream Bruce realized that he was standing around nothing, but darkness. For some reason a strange fog appeared out of nowhere and it made Bruce feel uncomfortable. Suddenly he heard footsteps and as Bruce listened carefully the sound got closer to where he was standing. He then saw two dark figures walking towards him and that's when Bruce decided to speak in order to find out who the two individuals were.

"Hello…..whoever you two are I'm not afraid of you so show yourselves." Bruce said to the two shadowy figures in the distance, but they did not answer back.

When the two dark figures finally revealed themselves to Bruce he couldn't believe who were standing in front of him. It was his parents Thomas and Martha Wayne, but how is that possible. Bruce was speechless as he saw both of his parents for the first time ever since they died and he didn't know what to say to them.

"I never wanted this for you." Thomas said to Bruce

"We never wanted any of this for you Bruce." Martha said to her son

"Mom, dad, I don't understand what do you mean?" Bruce asked while feeling confused.

"We're so sorry son." Both parents said at the same time to Bruce.

After that Thomas and Martha Wayne turned around and walked away from their son. Bruce tried to run after them, but they immediately disappeared into the fog.

"WAIT, mother, father, no please don't leave me again." Bruce begged them to come back, but he was too late.

Bruce finally, woke up from his bad dream and noticed that it was morning already, because he saw the sun shining through the window. He got up from the couch and went to the bathroom to splash some water in his face, because he was feeling very shaken up from his nightmare. During that same moment he quickly looked at himself in the mirror and saw nothing, but a young man who is truly lost.

"_What am I suppose to do? No one should have to live like this for the rest of their life. __I don't even know who I am anymore."_ Bruce thought to himself.

**Hey guys so with only three episodes left of Gotham's final season I decided to write a new fanfiction as a tribute to both the show and to celebrate the 80****th**** anniversary of the character Batman. This story is going to be based off the second half of season 4 from episodes 12-15. I don't want to give away any major spoilers, but all I can say is that it takes place in the same alternate timeline with my first Gotham fanfiction called "GOTHAM'S HOPE". The only difference is that this takes place before the events of "GOTHAM'S HOPE" so I'm sorry if it sounds confusing. Keep in mind that I don't consider any of this canon, because it's an alternate timeline so I just wanted to make sure you knew that as well. Anyways please let me know what you guys think so far and if you have any suggestions on what you want to see in the story leave it in the reviews. Special thanks to Jak Pickens, Phillipe363, and angelamorales514 for helping me with writing this story. I highly recommend you check out their fanfictions, because they're very good writers and storytellers to. Thank you very much for reading this and I hope you have a good day.**


	2. Chapter 2

It's never too late to make things right

Chapter 2

**The Narrows**

Life in the narrows is not easy for anybody in Gotham, especially for Alfred Pennyworth. It hasn't been easy for him the past few days after being fired by Bruce Wayne. Alfred barely manage to get through the first two days of being on the streets, because he didn't have much money with him and all he had was a brief case of some clothes that he packed. Luckily he was able to find a temporary place to stay for a while at an old homeless shelter. The person in charge of the facility was kind enough to let Alfred stay there for a few days just until he figures out a game plan now that he's not a butler anymore. Honestly Alfred wasn't really sure what his next step was, because the only options he could think of was to either try to reconcile with Bruce or leave Gotham and start a new life. A part of him actually wanted to go back to Wayne Manor and talk things over with Bruce in order to undo everything that's happened between them, but he also felt like maybe it's better to just leave the city and never come back.

As far as Alfred was concerned Bruce is no longer his responsibility so why should he care. Bruce has done nothing, but treat Alfred like dirt ever since he started partying with a bunch of selfish rich kids. Alfred sort of blames himself for Bruce's behavior and the way things have turned out recently. He tried to help Bruce cope with killing Ra's Al Ghul, but that didn't help, because Bruce refused to talk about it. It only got worse when the two of them had a big fight, which ended with Bruce firing Alfred and kicking him out of Wayne Manor. A part of Alfred is really mad at Bruce and thinks that maybe he should just give up on the boy and not worry about him anymore. The only problem is that he can't, because despite everything he's been through Alfred still really cares about Bruce. After a very long day Alfred, finally manage to get settled in at the homeless shelter and was grateful that he has a temporary place to stay for a while. Alfred even manage to get a good night sleep, because with everything that's happened he really needed some rest.

The next day Alfred decided to go out and get some breakfast at a diner. He sat at the counter table looking through the menu until, finally a female waiter came over to where he was sitting to take his order.

"Hello my name is Tiffany can I take your order sir." The female waiter said in a nice soft voice.

"Ah yes, hello ma'am it's nice to meet you my name is Alfred. May I please have some scramble eggs with a side of bacon." Alfred asked politely to her.

"Sure thing and would you like some coffee to?" Tiffany asked while writing down his order.

"Yes I would love to have some coffee thank you." Alfred said

"Coming right up." Tiffany said as she turned around to go get Alfred a cup of coffee.

After Alfred got his coffee from the kind female waiter he took the time to read the newspaper while waiting for his meal. Honestly there really wasn't anything interesting in today's headlines, because it was mostly the same stuff you would normally hear on the Gotham news channel on TV. The only thing that caught Alfred's attention was the news about how "The Siren's Club" was re-opening today. Apparently after Oswald Cobblepot AKA "The Penguin" was sent back to Arkham Asylum his nightclub called "The Iceberg Loung" was sold back to Barbara Kean. The newspaper also mentions that Mrs. Kean will be having a party tonight to celebrate the grand re-opening of "The Siren's Club". Eventually, Alfred stopped reading the newspaper, because he was not very interested about the whole nightclub thing. During that same moment the nice female waiter Tiffany came out with his order.

"Here's your meal sir." Tiffany said as she carefully put the plate of scrambled eggs and bacon on the counter table to where Alfred was sitting.

"Thank you very much ma'am." Alfred said

"You're welcome." Tiffany said

Alfred manage to enjoy his meal peacefully and felt like maybe things will get better for him even though he's been through a lot recently. After he finished having his breakfast he paid the check and then left the diner to head back to the homeless shelter. Alfred was almost back at the homeless shelter when suddenly he saw a familiar figure across the street. The guy was wearing a green suit that looked old and his hair was messy to. When Alfred got a better look at the guys face he realized that it was Edward Nygma AKA the Riddler. What was he doing in the Narrows and more importantly what is he up to. Alfred needed to find out so without any hesitation he decided to follow him in order to find out what he's planning.. Alfred kept his distance while carefully following the Riddler. At one point Ed made a turn to a corner in an alley way that lead to a fightclub called "Cherry's Place". When Alfred went into the alley way he realized that the Riddler was gone and nowhere to be seen, but how is that even possible. Suddenly he heard something behind him and before Alfred could react he was quickly knocked out by a hard punch to the face. As Alfred laid unconscious Ed cautiously kept his distance from the old man, because he wasn't sure if whether or not he was going to get back up.

"I may not be smart anymore, but I'm still good at knowing when I'm being followed." Ed said to the unconscious Alfred.

Ed had Solomon Grundy carry Alfred inside the fight club and luckily nobody in the building asked about who the unconscious man was. The two of them went downstairs to the clinic where Lee Thompkins was working right now. Ever since the former owner of "Cherry's Place" was killed a few weeks ago, Lee became in charge of the facility while also gaining the role of new leader in the Narrows.

"Lee we have a problem." Ed said

"What is it Ed?" Lee asked while organizing the medicine cabinet.

"Some old guy was following me back to the fight club. I knocked him out and had Grundy carry him here." Ed explained

Grundy carefully placed Alfred on to the examine table. When Lee saw who it was it shocked her, because it made her curious as to why Alfred was even in the Narrows in the first place.

"Alfred!" Lee said in disbelief.

**Hello everyone I hope you have enjoyed this second chapter to my new Gotham fanfiction. The next chapter will be updated soon so please leave a review on what you think so far of the story. Thank you very much for reading this and I hope you have a good day.**


	3. Chapter 3

It's never too late to make things right

Chapter 3

**The Narrows, (Cherry's Place)**

Alfred wasn't sure how long he was knocked out, but when he finally, woke up everything was a blur. As Alfred opened his eyes he looked around the room he was in and realized that he was in some kind of clinic. Alfred really had no idea how he got here, because the last thing that he remembered was getting knocked out by a single punch. The former butler realized that he was laying on an examine table so he decided to sit up. Alfred then started rubbing his face with his right hand to check where he got hit. The pain from the punch mostly came from the left side of his face, but it didn't hurt as bad as he thought.

"Ah bloody hell." Alfred said to himself, because this was not how he expected his day to go.

In that same moment Dr. Thompkins entered the room and was relieved that Alfred finally, woke up.

"Oh good you're awake, I wanted to make sure you were alright." Lee said

"Dr. Thompkins…what are you doing here?" Alfred asked while feeling confused

"I should be asking you the same question Alfred." Lee said

Lee noticed that Alfred was rubbing his left cheek, because she's aware that he got punched in the face by Ed earlier. Lee then took out an ice pack from the cooler and gave it to Alfred.

"Here this should help make the pain go away." Lee said

"Thank you." Alfred said as he placed the ice pack on his left cheek.

"You're welcome." Lee said

There was a few seconds of silence between the two of them until finally, Lee decided to say something.

"So Alfred, would you mind telling me what you're doing down here?" Lee asked

"Honestly I don't even know how I got here." Alfred said

"That's not what I'm referring to, what I mean is why are you in the narrows in the first place?" Lee asked

"Believe it or not I live here now." Alfred said

"What!" Lee said in disbelief

"It's a long story." Alfred said

"Okay well Ed told me you were following him for some reason." Lee said

"Wait a minute you're working with the riddler now?" Alfred asked

"Don't worry Ed is not the riddler anymore. He's been helping me with making a difference in the narrows." Lee explained

"Oh." Alfred said

"You still haven't answered my other second question. Why were you following Ed?" Lee asked

""I was minding my own business, but when I saw that riddler guy I decided to find out what he was up to." Alfred explained

"Trust me Ed is not much of a threat anymore and he's not the same smart super criminal he used to be." Lee said

"What do you mean?" Alfred asked

Dr. Thompkins then explained everything to Alfred. She told him about how Ed needed her help to make him smart again, because Ed believes he lost all of his intelligence after being frozen in a block of ice for a few months. Lee also told Alfred that the reason why she's been working in the narrows is, because Lee was responsible for letting the tetch virus spread in this area of the city. Lee felt guilty for her actions so she decided to help treat those who were still recovering from the virus in order to make things right.

"Now you know why I'm down here in the narrows." Lee said

"I'm really sorry to hear that Dr. Thompkins." Alfred said

"Don't be, I was the one who caused all of this mess and that's why I have to do everything I can to fix this by providing medical treatment to others who come to my clinic." Lee explained

"Does Gordon know about this." Alfred asked

"No he doesn't." Lee said

"oh." Alfred said

"I know it's none of my business, but why are you living in the narrows. Aren't you suppose to be Bruce's legal guardian since you're his butler." Lee asked

"No, not anymore." Alfred said

"What do you mean?" Lee asked with a confused look on her face.

"Master Bruce has fired me from my job and has also signed some papers that remove me from being his legal guardian." Alfred explained

"What why would he do that?" Lee asked

"We had an argument that lead to a fight and then he decided to kick me out of Wayne Manor." Alfred said

This really shocked Dr. Thompkins, because even though she didn't know Bruce Wayne very well she couldn't believe that he would do something like that. Lee has had a few interactions with Bruce before in the past, but she never really got to know him as a person.

"Have you tried talking to Bruce since then?" Lee asked

"No I haven't." Alfred said

"Are you going to?" Lee asked

"I don't know, because master Bruce has made it perfectly clear that he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore and maybe it's for the best." Alfred explained

Lee was surprised at what Alfred just said, because she never thought she would hear him say something like that.

"You can't just give up on him." Lee said

"I don't want to give up on master Bruce, but he won't listen to me even if I try talking to him." Alfred said

This really broke Dr. Thompkins heart, because it was really sad for her see Alfred like this. She wished there was some way she could help fix the situation between Bruce and Alfred. After a few seconds of thinking it over Dr. Thompkins finally, came up with an idea that might work.

"How about I talk to Bruce." Lee said

"Seriously!" Alfred said in disbelief

"I know it's not the best idea, but maybe I can talk some sense into Bruce if I just have a regular conversation with him." Lee explained

"Are you really sure you want to do this Dr. Thompkins?" Alfred asked

"Look I may not know Bruce very well, but I'm certain that I can help him with whatever it is that he's dealing with." Lee said

"Alright." Alfred said

Their conversation came to an end when Ed and Grundy entered the room. This caused Alfred to quickly get up from the examine table and put the ice pack aside, because despite what Lee told him earlier he was still skeptical about it.

"Relax old timer I come in peace." Ed said

"Is that so." Alfred said sarcastically

"Yeah Lee explained to me about how she knows you and stuff." Ed said

"If you mean no harm then what's up with the body guard." Alfred said as he was referring to Grundy.

Dr. Thompkins knew where this was going so she immediately intervened, because she did not want there to be any conflicts in her clinic.

"Okay that's enough, Ed tell Grundy to stand down." Lee said

"Whatever you say boss." Ed said before turning his attention to Grundy

"Grundy go back upstairs we don't need you now." Ed said

Grundy gave Ed a quick nod and then went back upstairs. Once that was settled Ed then turned his attention back to both Lee and Alfred.

"Sorry about that we normally use Grundy as a last resort when things get intense around here." Ed explained

Alfred didn't anything, but remained cautious throughout the whole scenario.

"Anyways no hard feelings about earlier when I punched you in the face." Ed said as he extended his left hand out as some sort of apologetic handshake.

Alfred was hesitant at first, but eventually responded when he shook Ed's left hand with his right hand. Alfred's grip was a little bit strong, but Ed didn't seem too bothered by it.

"No, of course not." Alfred said sarcastically

After the two of them finished talking and shaking hands Ed went back upstairs while Lee escorted Alfred to the exit of the fight club, because it was getting late and she figured that he needed to get back to where he was staying in the narrows. Alfred thanked her for all of the help and she told him that it was no problem.

The next day Lee was getting ready to visit Bruce at Wayne Manor in order to talk to him since she promised Alfred that she would do that. The only thing that Lee got concerned about was making up an excuse for her absence at the fight club since the people of the narrows come to her clinic for medical treatment. She eventually, was able to think of an excuse that may work without causing any suspicions from Ed or the people in the narrows. Lee told Ed that she needed go visit an old friend that she hasn't seen in a long time and thankfully her made up story actually work. She told him to keep an eye on the place for her until she gets back and after that Lee quickly called in a taxi and headed straight to Wayne Manor.

**Wayne Manor **

Bruce was in his bedroom looking at his old Wayne tech prototype suit. Ever since he gave up his whole vigilante career Bruce kept thinking on whether or not he should just get rid of it or return to it to Lucius Fox. Before he could make a decision the doorbell suddenly rang. Bruce wasn't expecting any visitors so who could be at the front door. Without any hesitation Bruce went downstairs to go answer the door. He kept wondering on who the visitor might be, his first guess was probably Alfred, but that seemed unlikely since he fired him a few days ago. His second guess was that it might be Selina Kyle, because last night he saw her during the grand re-opening of "The Siren's Club". Selina wasn't very fond of seeing Bruce, because she didn't like his selfish behavior. When Bruce finally, answered the front door he was surprised that the visitor was Dr. Thompkins.

"Dr. Thompkins!" Bruce said

"Hi Bruce." Lee said

**Hey everyone I hope you enjoyed this third chapter to my second Gotham story. I'm not going to give away too many spoilers for what will happen in the next few chapters, because I have it all planned out on how I want the events to go in this story. What I can say is that Bruce will be getting back into his vigilante business soon, because honestly even though I love Gotham a lot I did have some minor complaints that I think the writers could have fixed with season 4. For one thing I didn't like how Bruce just randomly burned his prototype Bat-suit in the fireplace since he just got it like a few episodes ago during the beginning of the season. Also I felt like Bruce should have instantly gone back to being a vigilante again since the finale of season 3 was building up to that point in his life of becoming the future Batman. Either way I still love Gotham for what it is and I'm glad the show ended on a good note with its final episode. Anyways the next chapter may take awhile to update, because I plan on making it a little bit longer. Thank you so much for reading this and I hope you have a great day.**


	4. Chapter 4

It's never too late to make things right

Chapter 4

**Wayne Manor**

Bruce Wayne was really confused as to why Dr. Thompkins was here visiting him in the first place. There was an awkward moment of silence between the two of them, because it had been a long time since they last met. Lee finally, decided to start talking again in order to break the awkward silence between her and Bruce.

"Is it alright if I come in and talk to you for awhile Bruce?" Lee asked politely

"Uh….sure no problem Dr. Thompkins." Bruce said

As Lee entered the mansion she looked around and almost forgot how beautiful the inside of Wayne Manor is, because Lee has only been here once. It was probably like a year ago and at the time she was still working for the GCPD as a forensic scientist. Lee remembers it like it was yesterday, because it was before her relationship with Jim Gordon ended. When Lee came to Wayne Manor for the first time she had a conversation with Bruce about how he was feeling after being kidnapped by Theo Galavan. After that Lee never really talked to Bruce again up until right now since at the time a lot of stuff happened that changed her forever such as death of her fiancé Mario, injecting herself with the Tetch virus for awhile before being cured by Jim with the antidote, working in the narrows to help those affected by the virus, and then eventually becoming the new boss of "Cherry's Place".

Bruce and Lee then walked into his father's study and decided to sit down in order to have their conversation.

"So what is it that you wanted to talk about Dr. Thompkins?" Bruce asked

"Well to be honest Bruce the reason why I am here is, because yesterday I ran into Alfred in the narrows and from what I understand he's been living there for awhile." Lee explained

Bruce was surprised by this, because even though he fired Alfred he was still concerned about how he was doing and hearing from Lee that Alfred has been living in the narrows made him feel guilty.

"How is Alfred, is he alright?" Bruce said

"He's fine." Lee said

"I see." Bruce said

"Alfred's also worried about you." Lee said

"He is?" Bruce asked

"Yes." Lee said

"Did he ask you to come here just to check up on me?" Bruce asked

"No actually I came here, because Alfred told me that you and him got into an argument and then had a fight, which made you fire him." Lee said

Bruce had a feeling that there was a reason for Lee being here and when she brought up the thing about him firing Alfred it all made sense. Bruce was too ashamed to say anything else, because the guilt was eating him up inside. Lee could tell just by looking at Bruce that something was bothering him.

"Bruce I want to help you, but I can't do that unless you start being honest with me. I want to understand what caused you to fire Alfred in the first place. Alfred loves you Bruce, you're like a son to him. Please just tell me what happened between you two so that way I can help fix this." Lee explained

Bruce knew deep down that Dr. Thompkins was right and she really wants to help him so he has to be honest with her.

"Alright I'll tell you everything, because you deserve to know the truth about what happened between me and Alfred." Bruce said

"Thank you." Lee said

For the next few minutes Bruce told Lee everything involving his encounter with Ra's Al Ghul, to getting the dagger, leading up to the death of his friend Alex Winthrop. Bruce also explained how this caused him to be manipulated into killing Ra's with the dagger, which made him feel conflicted and guilty. Bruce then told Lee about how he started acting immature, which caused him to start drinking and partying with spoiled rich kids, because he couldn't accept the fact that he killed Ra's just so he can get revenge for Alex's death. After that Bruce explained how this all lead up to him and Alfred getting into a fight, which caused him to fire his butler in the first place.

After Bruce finished telling Lee the truth she didn't know what to think of it all. Even though Lee did not know Bruce that well she always thought of him as a kind and polite young man. Now when she looks at him all Lee sees is a broken person who was manipulated into doing something horrible all, because he blamed himself for his friend's death.

After a few seconds of silence between the two of them Lee decided to speak again.

"So that's why you've been acting this way, because of your guilt." Lee said

"Yes and if I'm being honest with myself I hate what I've become. Sometimes I wish I could take back what I did. At first I really didn't want to kill Ra's Al Ghul, but he manipulated me into doing it and I ended up stabbing him with the dagger. I became my own worst enemy and it made me act like a jerk and push away Alfred. I don't know if I can ever forgive myself for that." Bruce explained

"Bruce listen me, there is still good in you I know it. I'll admit that what you told me is going to take some time for me to get use to, because it's a lot to take in. You may have done a terrible thing, but that doesn't make you a monster. From what you have told me, whoever this Ra's Al Ghul is he wanted you to become something that you're not. Don't let his evil influence turn you into a killer, because that's not who you are Bruce." Lee said

"Do you really think I can overcome this?" Bruce asked

"Yes I do, you can still do the right thing by not acting like this and work things out between you and Alfred. You do not have to push people away Bruce and you don't have to face your problems on your own. Maybe if you just be more open with your friends and family then you won't feel lonely, because we want to help you Bruce." Lee explained

This gave Bruce a lot to think about, because for as long as he could remember Bruce always felt that he had to face his problems on his own. Whether it was the investigation of his parent's murder, confronting the court of owls, or facing off against Ra's Al Ghul, these were things Bruce thought he needed to do on his own. Bruce thought it was the right thing to do, because in his mind it was the only way he could protect those he cared about, but deep down he knew he was wrong. Bruce needs to understand that he needs help and being reminded of that by Lee is what made him start thinking clearly. Bruce realized in that moment that he has to stop pushing people away, because other wise he'll never truly overcome his inner demons and he needs to be more open with his friends and family in order to build a better trust relationship.

"You're right Dr. Thompkins." Bruce said

"I'm glad you understand that better Bruce." Lee said

Lee then looked at her watch to see what time it was and realized that she needed to get back to the narrows soon before Ed and the others at "Cherry's Place" get suspicious of what she is doing. She still wants to help Bruce, but Lee can't risk getting caught so she decided to give Bruce her phone number so that way he can stay in contact with Lee if he ever needs to talk to her.

"Listen I need to get going, but if you ever need to talk to me just give me a call on this number." Lee said as she wrote down her phone number on a piece of paper and gave it to Bruce.

"Thank you." Bruce said

"You're welcome and promise me that if anything comes up you'll call me okay and I'll come over to talk with you alright." Lee said

"I promise I will Dr. Thompkins." Bruce said

"Good and Bruce I really think you should also try giving Alfred a call to. I'm not saying you should do it now, but when you feel ready just call Alfred so that way you can talk things over with him." Lee explained

"I'll make sure I do that to Dr. Thompkins. But what if Alfred doesn't want to talk to me. I'm worried that he might be still mad at me." Bruce said

"You can't think like that Bruce, you have to at least try to talk with Alfred so that way you can make amends with him." Lee said

"Okay I'll give it try." Bruce said

"Good." Lee said

Lee asked Bruce if she could use his house phone to call in a taxi and he said yes. Lee then used the house phone to dial the number for Gotham taxi service and proceeded to call for a taxi driver to come pick her up at Wayne Manor. After waiting for 15 minutes the taxi driver finally, arrived at the mansion. Lee said goodbye to Bruce and then left Wayne Manor in the taxi to head back to "Cherry's Place" in the narrows. When she got back to the place nobody questioned on where she was earlier. Not even Ed suspected anything, which was good for Lee so now she doesn't have to worry about that and she can just focus on getting back to helping the narrows.

Meanwhile back at Wayne Manor Bruce spent the rest of the day thinking about the conversation he had with Dr. Thompkins. She made a lot of good points on how he shouldn't keep acting so selfish or negative, because all it does is cause him nothing, but pain and suffering. Bruce realized that if he doesn't start changing his ways he will end up being alone for the rest of his life with no friends or family. Another thing that Bruce kept thinking about is whether or not he should go back to protecting Gotham as a vigilante, but Bruce is still not sure if he is fully ready to return to that lifestyle. The one thing that Bruce was anxious about the most was deciding if he should call Alfred and try to talk things over with him. As the day turned into nighttime Bruce couldn't make up his mind on what he should do. In that same moment Bruce got a call from his spoiled rich friends asking if he wanted to hangout with them at a club. At first Bruce was considering it, but than he remembered his conversation with Dr. Thompkins earlier and after a few seconds of thinking he told his friends on the phone that he can't come. This made Bruce feel good about himself, because it was the start of him coming to his senses. Bruce still wasn't sure if he should talk to Alfred so without any hesitation he decided to get some sleep and hopefully Bruce will finally, come to a decision in the morning.

The next day when Bruce woke up he went downstairs to make some coffee. As he entered the kitchen Bruce thought to himself about whether he should call Alfred or not. Finally, after thinking long and hard Bruce decided that he is going to talk with his former butler in order to work things out with him. Bruce knew that deep down that it wasn't going to be easy, because apologizing to Alfred isn't enough to convince him that he's ready to change his ways. Bruce has to prove to Alfred that he's not selfish anymore in order to gain his trust back.

While Bruce was making coffee an unknown voice entered the kitchen.

"Hello Bruce." A female voice said behind him.

When Bruce heard this he quickly turned around and saw a strange woman with red hair standing in front of him. Bruce had know idea who she was, but something about her seemed very familiar to him. As he looked at the strange woman Bruce suddenly remembered who she is.

"Wait a minute I know you, I saw you at "The Siren's Club" the other night." Bruce said while being cautious at the same time, because he wasn't sure if this woman was dangerous or not.

"You sure do have a good memory Bruce." The woman said

"Why are you here and how did you get into my house." Bruce asked

"That doesn't matter and the reason why I'm here is, because I want information on what you know about Project-M." The mysterious woman said while walking closer to Bruce.

"How do you know about that?" Bruce asked

"Oh I know a lot of things billionaire boy." The woman said

"Ivy!" Bruce said with a surprised look on his face.

In that same moment Ivy Pepper quickly kissed Bruce on the lips, thus hypnotizing him with her pheromone perfume.

"You're so beautiful." Bruce said while being controlled by Ivy.

"Now tell me what Project-M is." Ivy said

"Of course Ivy." Bruce said

Bruce was unable to break free of Ivy's control over him. He was trapped within his own mind and was force to watch as he told Ivy everything he knew about the information of Project-M.

"That's quite a story and it's not what I was expecting." Ivy said

"You're just so easy to talk to." Bruce said

"Normally I would make this quick like I did with Roland, but it's your name on the company that murders my green friends." Ivy said

"I'm so sorry Ivy, I would never want to upset you." Bruce said

"But you have Bruce and I know what you really want. You want to bury your head in the sand, because you're guilty." Ivy said

In that same moment Ivy placed her right hand around Bruce's neck and then scratched him with her index finger. After that Ivy watched as Bruce slowly started having trouble breathing due to the small cut from her scratch. Bruce then fell to floor of the kitchen as he was becoming more ill and weak from Ivy's scratch.

"It'll be slow and it will be painful, but it's what you deserve. I'm just sorry I won't be here to see you bloom." Ivy explained

After that Ivy left Wayne Manor to proceed with the next step of her plan. Meanwhile Bruce was barely able to hold on to his life now that he was on the verge of death.

Bruce's head felt dizzy and then suddenly the effects of Ivy's scratch started making him have strange hallucinations. Bruce was hallucinating that he was strapped to a chair while his own face is cut off by a doctor that looks just like Ra's Al Ghul. The dream then lead him to walking around Wayne Manor and apparently some party is being held. There was a lot of people dressed up fancy inside the mansion and Bruce could've sworn he saw Selina Kyle walk by him. Bruce really didn't care about that, because he needed to know what was going on. He suddenly saw Jim Gordon and Barbara Kean having a conversation and tried to ask them where Ivy is along with why there is a party in his house. However, to his surprise the two of them acted like they didn't know who he is or what he's talking about. Jim and Barbara then explained that Bruce Wayne is the one hosting this party. They point over to where he is and then Bruce saw Oswald Cobblepot and Lee Thompkins talking to a person that looks just like him. As Bruce confronted the imposter he tried to ask him where Ivy is and why he has his face. The imposter thought Bruce was crazy so he pushed him away and then told Bruce that he's ruining the party. After that Bruce tried to confront the imposter again, but was suddenly stopped by Dr. Thompkins.

"Are you alright young man?" Lee asked

"Dr. Thompkins it's me Bruce Wayne." Bruce said

"Are you feeling ok young man, because I think you may be confusing yourself for someone else. Bruce Wayne is over there." Lee said while point to where the imposter is.

"But I am Bruce Wayne don't you remember me." Bruce said

"No I'm sorry I do not remember you, because we've just met." Lee said

"Why is this happening to me, why doesn't anybody believe me that I am the real Bruce Wayne?" Bruce said as he was starting to become upset.

Lee then felt really bad for the young man so she tried to comfort him with a hug.

"Hey listen, everything will be alright." Lee said

Bruce accepted Lee's hug, because even though this wall a hallucination in his mind it helped him feel calm. Bruce knew that he was going to die from Ivy's scratch one way or another so the only thing he could do was try to stay relaxed as best as he can while being hugged by Lee in the hallucination.

"I'm so sorry Dr. Thompkins, it's just that I've been struggling for so long, because I don't know who I am anymore." Bruce said

"I understand, we all at one point have that feeling of uncertainty. It's a normal human emotion, but sometimes we need to remind ourselves that the only true way to overcome our struggles is by seeking help from others that care about us. You just have to learn to be more honest and open with your friends and family so that way they can help you. Once you do that then you'll be able to figure out who are as a person." Lee explained

"You really think so." Bruce asked

"Yes I do, just remember that it's not who are underneath, but what you do that defines you." Lee said

"I promise I will and thank you." Bruce said

"You're welcome." Lee said

In that same moment Bruce's hallucination quickly changed. Dr. Thompkins disappeared and everything around him turned into darkness. All of a sudden a bright light from a distance appeared out of nowhere. Bruce followed the light and eventually it lead him to some empty alleyway, however this was no ordinary alleyway. He immediately recognized the alleyway as the place where his parents were murdered. As Bruce stands in the center of the alleyway he notices that the bright light from earlier shines on him. He looks up to see where it was coming from, at first Bruce thought it was from some old lamppost, but it wasn't. The light source came from some mysterious dark figure that was standing on one of the fire escapes. Bruce assumed that he was the one who lead him here so without any hesitation Bruce started talking to the dark figure.

"Who are you, why did you bring me here in the first place. This is where my parents died." Bruce said

"No this is where I was born." The mysterious figure said

The strange figure then transformed into a swarm of bats that flew away and then suddenly hallucination dream ended when Bruce, finally woke up. As Bruce opened his eyes he saw both Lucius Fox and Jim Gordon helping him stand up.

"Bruce you're alright, just take slow deep breaths. Lucius injected you with an antidote to Ivy's toxin so you should be back to full health in no time." Captain Gordon explained

"We're just really glad that you are ok Bruce. We were both worried that we almost lost you." Lucius said

"Whe….Where's Ivy" Bruce said while trying to take deep breaths.

"She's gone, we tried to stop her, but Ivy manage to escape and she stole a vial containing the formula liquid for Project-M." Captain Gordon said

"We do not really know what she plans on using it for, but Jim and I will find her and stop it." Lucius said

"Thank you." Bruce said

"You're welcome." Captain Gordon said

"Jim has left a couple of officers outside to be on the look out for the night in case if Ivy comes back. They'll make sure nothing happens to you alright and you'll be safe here I promise." Lucius explained

"Lucius and I need to head back to GCPD, because we're going to gather up as many police as possible to start searching for Ivy Pepper before she kills anyone else. You stay here and get some rest until you're fully recovered from the toxin." Captain Gordon said

"I will." Bruce said

"Good, I'll come back in the morning and check up on you alright, but in the mean time do not leave Wayne Manor." Captain Gordon said

"I promise I won't." Bruce said

After the conversation ended Jim and Lucius left the mansion to head back to the GCPD building. Bruce waited until they were gone and then decided to go up stairs and get his Wayne tech prototype suit on, but before he could do that there was one thing he needed to do first. He picked up his cell phone and tried to call Alfred, because he really wanted to talk to him. He also thought about calling Dr. Thompkins to let her know what happened since she gave him her phone number, but Bruce decided he will tell her later after he searches for Ivy. Unfortunately Bruce couldn't reach Alfred on the phone so he left a message for him.

"Alfred it's me Bruce, I know we haven't seen each other in awhile ever since our fight, but the reason why I am calling you now is, because I wrong to treat you like that and I want to make things right between us. I'm not asking you forgive me I know I have to prove to you first that I've changed before I can re-gain your trust back. If you do get this message please call me Alfred, because I need you now more than ever." Bruce said before hanging up the phone.

Bruce then quickly changed into his Wayne tech prototype suit and also put on the mask to, because if he's going to be searching for Ivy Pepper on his own he needs to keep his secret identity hidden. Bruce then used the back exit of Wayne Manor to sneak out undetected so that way the officers guarding the front entrance of the house won't suspect that he's gone. After that Bruce went off into the city of Gotham to search for Ivy Pepper and find out what she's to do with the vial containing the liquid of Project-M.

**Hey guys I hope you enjoyed this new chapter that I updated for my story. So now Bruce is getting back into his vigilante business and is on the search for Ivy Pepper. I really enjoyed writing this chapter a lot, because I got to focus on Bruce's character development. I loved writing the conversation scenes between Bruce and Dr. Thompkins, because it's what gives him the motivation to change his ways and get back to protecting Gotham. This was something I think should've been in the original canon timeline of the show, but I still love Gotham for what it is. Anyways if you guys love this story then please leave a review on what you like about it and if you have any ideas or suggestions on what you would like to see then let me know in the reviews. The next chapter will be updated soon so thank you for reading this and I hope you have a good day.**


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